Conspiracy and Chaos
by Bladelord2000
Summary: After a year of traveling, a tactician returns to Lycia to aid a friend in finding his lost father. As they find more answers to the mystery, they soon discover themselves trapped in a war against evil involving a group of assassins. Now the tactician, with the help of his friends, must face the past and set things right before all of Elibe crumbles! Sequel to An Adventure in Elibe
1. Chapter 1 The Journey Continues

**A/N: **The beginning of a new story! This is a sequel to An Adventure in Elibe! As usual, if you guys like it, please review and if you don't tell me why! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fire Emblem, but you already know that!

* * *

Ch 1 The Journey Continues

For most, it was just another day in Pharae, one of the many territories of Lycia. It was a bright, sunny day, perfect for hunting and sometimes even sparring. Yet, for the red haired Pharaen prince, it was so much more. For him, it was the day he would leave to find his father. Lord Eliwood would never accept the rumors claiming that his father was dead. He was setting off with a loyal knight and a fresh recruit.

"Lord Eliwood, we leave on your word," An older knight with purple hair and a small goatee was waiting on his brown stallion. That was Marcus, a senior knight of Pharae. He was the strongest knight left in Pharae aside from Isadora.

"I see, thank you Marcus," the red-haired lord. He then turned to his mother, "Mother, it is time for us to leave,"

Lady Eleanora was known in Pharae for her beauty and her strong will. Though for Eliwood her 'strong will' was just stubbornness. Their arguments about this journey had been fierce. He could understand that his mother was worried about him, but his father had disappeared! It was his duty to find him or Pharae would fall into disarray.

"Eliwood... Promise that you will return to me safely... I am worried about your father but... If something were to happen to you..."

"I know mother. But father is alive I know it. You have my word that I will find him and return to you safely,"

"I have your word then,"

"Yes. Of course... Isadora, I entrust my mother to you in my absence,"

"Milord, I will guard over her well," Isadora was another one of the most powerful knights of Pharae. She and Marcus were the only ones left now. Isadora was the only female knight in the knights of Pharae and the steward to Lady Eleanora.

"Mother I will return. Rest easy," With those words, Lord Eliwood began an adventure that would change many lives, including his own.

* * *

It had been about a year since I left Caelin. A year since I decided to travel with General Wallace to... Bern apparently. Wallace trained me so well that I have many scars to remember his training by... And BOOM! Something ran into me with a lot of force. I fell back... No scratch that I flew back and slid away. After I regained some of my senses, I looked around trying to figure out where I had landed and what in the world could have hit me that hard. I looked up to meet a girl with green hair and a green bandana. She had a bow in her hand.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She gave me a hand and helped me to my feet. I found my bag and took it.

"Um. What happened?" I inquired.

"Nothing, I just need to give my father some news,"

Suddenly, we both turned to hear a man booming, "Aha! So all the knights of Pharae have vanished eh? Well their misfortune is my good luck! As of now, this village is mine! Gronzyl is your new liege! Now bring me every last piece of gold in this wretched village! NOW!"

Before I could react, the green haired girl pulled me away and we ran to an isolated area in the village.

"Oh no! This is what I was afraid off. We have to do something... I have to help,"

My mind was already working, I had been here in this village less than a day and already something like this was happening. I had heard the rumors about lord Elbert's disappearance. Before this I was considering a visit to Lord Eliwood, now we had didn't have a choice.

"We should go to the castle and inform them. We can return with reinforcements,"

"But... Eliwood has probably already left!" Rebecca responded.

Before I could ask her what she meant, another voice interrupted my thoughts, "Eliwood? How do you know this?!" We spun around to see a man with lots of turqoise hair covering his eyes looking down on his. How he was able to see was beyond me.

"We need to speak to Lord Eliwood, this village is being raided!" I spoke.

His eyes seemed to widen, though I couldn't tell with all the hair covering his eyes.

"What?! Raided? In that case, come with me!" He turned and rode away, forcing us to follow him. So we ran trying to catch up with the crazy knight.

"Wait up!" The girl called. It didn't do us any good.

We finally caught up to him. But Wallace's training prepared me for situations like this... sort off. I held back a smile as I saw the girl next to me lying on her knees panting after we found him. I surveyed where we were now. As I expected Eliwood was there with another knight, one who looked more experienced and older than the one we just encountered. Eliwood hadn't noticed me yet so I decided to step forward when the girl next to me jumped up and blocked my view.

But I could hear her, "My lord Eliwood? I'm the daughter of the village magistrate. My name is Rebecca. The bandits came without warning. They're stealing everything! I beg you! Please help us!

"I see, Marcus! Lowen! we must help this village!"

"Of course milord!" The knight with turquoise hair responded. So he was Lowen and the other was Marcus.

"Rebecca, stay here and keep out of sight,"

"With all due respect milord, I would rather fight. I hunt almost everyday, and I have some skill with the bow,"

"Very well then, if you are certain. But be careful,"

"Thank you milord,"

"Well it's nice to see you too Eliwood. Then again you can't see me!" I remarked. I had to! I don't take it well when I'm ignored.

Lowen and Rebecca stepped aside so Eliwood could see me. The prince of Pharae had hardly changed in a year. Same red hair and same blue attire. He smiled when he saw me.

"Rohan! It's good to see you again!"

"Same to you Lord Eliwood,"

"You know this person, milord?"

"Yes, I met Rohan last year, during the trouble in Caelin. An excellent military advisor and tactician if memory serves. If not for him, Marquess Caelin, and his granddaughter, Lyn, may not have survived Lundgren's uprising,"

"I'm honored that you think so highly of me milord," I replied smiling.

"So what brings you here my friend?"

"Still traveling, honing my skills and exploring mostly. I still want to become a master tactician,"

"Ha! A worthy pursuit. Let's give thanks to providence for our chance reunion. We have need of your aid. Please lend us your skills,"

I began my usual procedure. I scanned the surroundings to search for enemies. I knew that they would be centered around the village. But in order to reach that village, we had to head north towards another village, where the bandits were already approaching.

"We'd better move north, together. Lowen, you and Marcus go first, Eliwood and I will follow. Rebecca, stay back and shoot anyone who gets too close,"

With that, we moved north. A brigand jumped out in front of Lowen. Lowen raised his sword and slashed wildly. Unfortumately the Brigand was quick and manged to avoid most of his attacks. But before he could counterattack, Marcus stepped forward and, with one swift motion, brought down the brigand with his sword.

"Lowen! A knight must remain calm in all situations! That man could've killed you easily with the way you were brandishing that sword,"

As he was chastising Lowen and as Lowen murmured his apologies, more brigands and an archer came to avenge their dead companion. It was annoying how bandits pretended to stick together. It was as if they actually cared for each other. They'd as soon sell their 'best friend' for cash. But that didn't change the fact that they had to be dealt with. While Marcus and Lowen were occupied, Eliwood and I moved forward. Rebecca came forward and took out their archer. That left two brigands for us to deal with. Eliwood dashed forward and, with impressive speed, lunged forward to stab one man in the stomach. Then he whirled around to face the other just as he was attacking. Eliwood sidestepped the attack and once again stabbed the bandit in the stomach. His fighting style focused more on lunges and stabs rather than slashes. It looked slightly awkward but it worked well for him.

"Milord? What are you doing? We knights are here to protect you milord! You can leave the fighting to us!"

"Thank you Marcus. But this is my fight as well. Don't worry about me, I can hold my own!"

Marcus looked like he wanted to protest, but before he could a voice yelled, "There they are! Heh. If we can capture the lordling, it'll be raining gold for us! Let's get him!" We prepared for a charge. Yet it never came. From the north, a crazy fighter came roaring and crashed into the bandits. This guy was a wannabe Wallace. As crude as his strategy was, it was effective. The bandits scattered by the time Lowen and Marcus advanced. Eliwood and I glanced at each other.

"Milord, do you require assistance?" A familiar, gruff voice asked. To our right, Dorcas appeared holding his axe.

"Your aid would be greatly accepted... I've seen you haven't I? Last year,"

"I believe so. Well if it isn't Rohan!" He allowed himself to smile slightly, "It is good to see you again,"

"Great to see you too! But I thought you were in Bern,"

"I was, but I moved here with Natalie. I'm sure she would be happy to see you. But for now... Just like old times eh?"

I chuckled, "Yea. Just like old times. But it looks like we're falling behind. We'd better catch up!"

Even Rebecca had gone ahead to help the knights. We ran to cach up and when we did, we found the village where I was just at. Dead bandits lay around there and there was only one man left. He was confronting Lowen

"Pharaen knights? But that's... That's impossible!" He screamed when Marcus came into his line of sight. Dorcas and Eliwood leapt forward, leaving me to watch them in action. Dorcas took his axe and with one swing smashed the enemy's shoulder. With a roar of pain, the bandit turned to face his attacker only to face Eliwood. Eliwood held his rapier towards him, then he puled back and without warning, slashed at the bandit and leapt into the air. After doing a backflip he returned to his original position and the bandit fell to his knees.

"Ugh... I thought... That my luck... Was finally turning around," With that he fell.

* * *

After the battle, we were met by an old man who was apparently the village magistrate and Rebecca's father.

"Ah, you would be lord Eliwood, yes? You have our deepest thanks for saving our village,"

"Think nothing of it. It's a lord' duty to protect the citizenry,"

"I wish it were always so milord. The good folk of Laus know no such protection. Their marquess, Lord Darin, ignores complaints about bandits and thieves. He is too busy preparing for war apparently,"

"Preparing for war?" Eliwood sounded surprised. Then again, it was an odd time to prepare for a war. Lycia was at a time where it was very peaceful everywhere. Trade was working well and there were generally few complaints from what I had heard before. It looked like I was wrong.

"I would not lie milord. My brother lived there until a few days ago when his home was torched. According to him, Laus could go to war any day now,"

Eliwood thanked the village magistrate once more and came to share this news with us. Marcus was the first to react.

"This is bad milord. If Marquess Laus is preparing for war, he is most likely targeting another Lycian territory... Perhaps this is connected to Lord Elbert's disappearance,"

"My father and Marquess Laus? It seems to be a tenuous connection, but it's as good a start as any. In that case, we should travel to Laus and find out more information,"

He then turned to me, "And where are you going now my friend?"

His question startled me, "Me? Well I'm not completely sure. Honestly I haven't given it much that,"

"Milord..." Marcus began. Both of us guessed where this was heading.

"In that case, would you like to join us? Ours is a small group with a single purpose. To find my father. I do not know where our search will lead nor do I know what challenges we may face. But we would be stronger with you in our company,"

For a time I was speechless. His offer had taken me by surprise. But when I could find my voice I began, "Well milprd, I'm very honored. Well I do not have any particular destination. If I can be of use to you then I'll gladly join you,"

Marcus looked just as skeptical as ever. But Eliwood beamed and shook my hand, "Thank you so much my friend! I pray that we don't give you reason to regret your decision!"

Yet I could sense Marcus' eyes perusing me. As if he could see something he couldn't look away from.

This seemed familiar, a lord asking me to accompany them on a journey. Though the first time, I had no idea Lyn was a lord until later. We left the village and continued towards Laus.

* * *

We stopped by to camp quite a ways off from the village. Much to our surprise, the girl who almost ran me over earlier wished to join us. She somehow followed us all the way to where we were. Eliwood gladly accepted her aid. Everyone had set up camp. I was reading some books I had obtained throughout the years and some that I wished to take with me. Just some more history of magic books, the mechanics of dark magic, and another book on various strategies from chess to historic battles of the Scouring. What can I say? I'm resourceful! But I heard something near my tent. I turned to see Rebecca crawling. Yes crawling into my tent. Once she realized that she was discovered, she awkwardly stood and scratched her head sheepishly.

"Erm... Well sorry to interrupt you," She began in response to my look of interrogation, "it's just that... Well. Eliwood's tent is really small, the knights and the fighters are sharing a tent and well..."

"Oh you don't have a tent? Well... You can use my bedroll,"

"What about that one?" She asked pointing to Lyn's.

"Let's just say that one is reserved. Don't ask," I predicted and responded before she could ask. Both the ring and the bedroll were small reminders of the journey last year. The ring reminded me of my last two days in Castle Caelin. The bedroll reminded me of all the adventures we had trying to get to Caelin.

"Well ok. We'll take turns. Every other day we alternate using the bedroll ok?"

I shrugged, "Whatever you say,"

She continued, "So, I never really introduced myself when I knocked you over. I'm Rebecca,"

"Rohan," I said.

"Huh. Neat name. So I'm guessing you're a tactician huh?"

"I am. I'm traveling. You're father let you come with us?"

"Well... He protested at first but... Well I convinced him,"

"I see,"

I thought she would give up trying to make conversation. I'm usually someone who likes to talk, but now I was really tired. But she was like Wil, a very amiable, social lady. So I engaged her politely.

"So why are you traveling?"

"I want to become a better tactician. I'm hoping to be a master someday,"

"Eliwood seems to think very highly of you. We've heard rumors of you in the past. How you helped Lady Lyndis... I just never thought that I would be able to meet you!"

'So I guess I've earned a bit of fame...'

"I'm sorry," Rebecca started, "I haven't made a great first impression. It was just that the bandits..."

"I understand, don't worry. Besides you have green hair and that's a plus,"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Never mind," I smiled to myself at my little remark. Nino and Lyn both had green hair and well... let's just say that I become fast friends with them. Maybe the same thing will happen here. This is a new group and I need all the friends I can get right now.

"So where were you before this? I mean before you helped Lady Lyndis claim her rightful position at the throne,"

"I lost my memory before I met Lyn. I've also been traveling to regain it... I know some but I'd rather not talk about it," I didn't exactly lie here, but my statement was purposefully misleading. I had, in my travels, found out who I was and how I met Ninian and Nils and what my past was. I was also painfully aware of a task I had to do later. But, I had no idea how to accomplish it.

'No, now is not a good idea to think about all that right now,'

"Let's talk later Rebecca. It was good meeting you,"

"Oh... You too. Also I uh cooked for the group. I hope you like it," She handed me some meat and soup. I ate quickly. Until then I had no idea how hungry I was.

"It's delicious thank you... You know you remind me of someone,"

"Oh? Who?"

"Just... A friend. His name is Wil. We traveled together a year ago," That remark had an effect on her. She didn't speak afterwards.

If I were more alert, I would have asked her about her silence. But I was too tired and the food made me sleepy. My eyes became heavy and I soon lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2 Battles and Stories

**A/N: **Well, it has been a while since I updated this story. But as usual, I hope you enjoy chapter 2!

* * *

Ch 2 Battles and Stories

For some reason, I was the first one to wake up. Then again, they probably went to sleep later than I did. I was starving, but my only option was to wait for either Lowen or Rebecca to wake up. They were the only two who could cook, and they cooked well!

"Good morning," To my relief, a voice sounded from my tent. Rebecca had woken up right after I had and came.

"Hungry?" She asked smirking at my look. I nodded to confirm and she went to cook some food for the rest of us. She cooked while I packed my belongings in preparation for our next journey. Suddenly a thought occurred to me. I went to look for Eliwood. It didn't take long. I found him at the entrance to my tent.

'Was he looking for me as well?'

"Ah Rohan, I needed some advice on something,"

"What do you need Lord Eliwood?"

"We've planned to head to Laus to search for answers. But I was wondering if we should stop by at Santaruz. I would guess my father stopped by there when he was going to Ostia,"

"Is the marquess your friend?"

"Lord Helman and my father have been friends for a while. He is like an uncle to me. It is one of the reasons that I ask,"

"I think it's a good idea. Perhaps he will lend us some supplies as well. We have nothing to lose,"

"Good. I'm glad you agree. Perhaps Marquess Helman can shed some light on this mystery,"

"Hopefully he can. Now, let's go eat breakfast,"

Rebecca and Lowen had worked together to create an amazing breakfast. After our delicious breakfast, we went on our way. I went into my tent. Rebecca was there packing her stuff.

"Ready to leave?"

"In a few minutes... Say, you were saying something yesterday about some guy named Wil. Do you know where he's from?"

"He's from Pharae. My guess is that you know him. Have a crush on him or something?"

"Hey! Where did THAT come from?"

"Well, you seem awful curious about Wil. Looks like he has an admirer,"

"Stop! Forget I asked!"

She turned away and pouted in such a silly way I couldn't resist laughing.

"What? You think this is funny? Considering how antisocial you were yesterday and now this!"

"I'm sorry! I just couldn't... Help it. And I was tired yesterday. Fine I'll be more social today ok?"

"Ok!" She said in such a cheery manner that she seemed to forget her... anger a moment ago.

"Well I'm ready to go! Let's go!"

* * *

We set off soon after. I spent the entire time chatting with either Rebecca or Dorcas.

"Natalie would've wanted to see you, but no harm done. You can visit her later..."

"I'd like to! It's been a while. How is she?"

"Ah! Her leg is healing a little. It may take a while but it'll heal. Thank you for everything?"

"Me?"

"Yes. You were the one who payed me a year ago. She may need a little more treatment, but, she'll recover. I'm confident,"

"I'm glad to hear that. It seems that your friend over there is calling,"

Dorcas groaned, it was one of the few occasions he showed frustration, "Not again! Probably wants to test his strength again!" He hurried along. We had all seen Bartre's impatient nature. He went on a rampage when Rebecca served breakfast to Lowen before him. Marcus and Lowen had to team up to stop him. 2 seconds later, he forgot all about it. Yep that was his volatile personality. Dangerous but he was a good friend... I thought.

"So!" A familiar voice sounded.

Rebecca had strode forward for a little chat, "You still haven't told me much about you," I commented, "You never told me you were such a good cook,"

"Oh? Well, I learned from my mother before... She died,"

"I see," I knew better than to say more. I was used to speaking with people who had lost family. It was cruel yet common in Elibe.

"Yeah. You liked it that much?"

"I thought it was delicious. I'm sure everyone else did too.

"Thanks... So! How was Caelin? I have never been there,"

"Well it's a beautiful place. Though, I've only seen the library, ballroom, and the marquess' bedroom. But I like the openness. I'd prefer taking walks or staying in the library than anything else,"

"Oh, interesting! What weapons do you use?"

"What do you mean? I'm a tactician, do I look like a warrior to you?" I asked in a harsher tone than I meant.

"No! Not that. It's just that you have swords," She pointed to the twin blades that I always had with me.

"Oh these. A nomadic tribe made them for me. This is the last of their work. They were excellent in the art of weapon making,"

"Wow! Um... You don't think we're going to run into trouble on the way do you?"

"Knowing me? We probably will... We already have. What is that?" I pointed to Marcus. He had apparently been trying to prevent a farmer from pestering him. Only this wasn't an ordinary farmer, this was the ugliest man I had ever seen. Words could not describe how ugly he looked to me. But the worse sign was the axe he slung across his shoulders.

Suddenly he bellowed, "Someone wants the boy in an early grave! Someone high up! The boy dies today! COME ON BOYS! EARN YOUR KEEP!"

'This is bad'

We were blinded by the mountains to the north. So our best bet was to just charge in and wait at the southern fortresses. But there was also the village to the north.

"Marcus, visit that village to the north, the rest of us will secure those fortresses and defend," Marcus was the only other person here who had tactical experience. He nodded and set off.

"Knowing his speed he should return quickly, let's go!" We headed to the fortresses, Lowen and Eliwood destroying the bandit waiting for us there. There, we held our ground. It was surprisingly easy considering the soldiers on the northern side and the brigands coming through the forests to the east. Then again, Dorcas and Bartre had an advantage against the soldiers, and Rebecca managed to damage most of the brigands before Lowen and Eliwood finished them off. The downside to my plan was that we were tiring and they weren't running out of men.

"They keep... On coming!" Eliwood panted. Rebecca was trying her best to hit the foes, but they became smarter and stuck to the woods. When she stopped attacking that's when they struck. Of course the fighters were fighting strong now that the soldiers were gone. So their strategy change didn't give them an advantage. But I noticed something. From the north, something was approaching us. It was a small group of people, but they didn't look like bandits. Bandits weren't smart enough to have a cleric around. Besides that what kind of cleric becomes a bandit anyway? However my heartbeat accelerated when I saw the familiar pink haired cleric from a year ago. I still wasn't sure whether this was good news or bad news. But I had an idea of what was coming. They increased their pace and I recognized, the blue haired man named Hector that Matthew asked me to meet a year ago. Speaking of Matthew, there he was. Looking as happy as ever. He winked at me as he sliced a brigand's throat. The battle ended pretty quickly after that.

* * *

After that battle, we combined forces with Hector's army. I met his guardian knight named Oswin. (Apparently there was some big story about Hector running away from him and almost getting skewered or something like that). Whatever the case, he seemed to be like Marcus. Older than the rest of the army, wiser, and had a more tactical mind.

"So you are this group's tactician then?"

"Yeah,"

"How long have you been in training?"

"I'm technically still in training, but I've been training now for about 6 years,"

"You must have risen quickly then!"

"Well, there's another story, about that,"

"Hmm? Well I'd love to hear it,"

"Well, I..."

"ROHAN!" And the pink cleric collided with me, grabbing me by the neck.

"ACk SERRA!"

"OMG!" Yeah she literally said the letters, "Omigod! You came all this way just to see your favorite cleric again? I knew you couldn't resist,"

"What? What are- Gah! Oswin! A little help?"

After he chuckled a bit he lifted Serra off me, allowing me to gasp for air. After I regained my breath, I sat by and shot a look to Serra.

"Well if it isn't you again," A semi-sarcastic voice sounded. Matthew was nearby with his usual smirk.

"Nice to see you too, Matthew. So you're with Ostia hm?"

"Well, I do some spy work for them. I'm not just an ordinary thief, like you and Lyn seemed to think? But enough about me. What was this story you were saying?"

"... You never miss anything do you?"

"OHH! STORY TIME!" Serra squealed at the top of her lungs. Of course that attracted everyone else. Literally, Lowen, Rebecca, even Bartre came toward her.

"What is this?" Hector asked, not even trying to hide his irritation at his cleric.

"Rohan's going to tell us a story about his life!"

And all eyes were on me. I didn't even try to refuse. One look at everyone and I could tell they were all ready to hear this 'story'

I sighed, "Very well, so this is the reason why I became a tactician so quickly in only about 6 years. So when I was in school, in training to become a tactician, I rose through the ranks very quickly for someone my age. Considering I had a limited education until when I was around 8 years old. Anyway, I actually made a lot of friends in school. But what happened was this. So the dean, principal, or whatever you call her, since she was always known to us as Poison Ivy,"

"What was she like?" asked someone in the crowd. I guessed it was Hector and shot him a really look.

"Well, she was a really mean, cold woman who loved plants. She actually wasn't that old actually but she was apparently an extremely skilled tactician,"

"Sounds somewhat stereotypical," Eliwood said.

"Well, then again milord, you were most likely tutored privately. But I digress, one day she called me to her office to have a little 'talk'. There she warned me about my habits. Apparently, I was too... How do I say it? I was someone who couldn't allow my units to die in the various strategy games we played. Generally, I'd do extra work to make sure my units survived. In fact, I traded victory for saving a unit once. So, she was there to warn me that if I didn't change my habits I wouldn't graduate. I never changed to her. So she came to my class to announce that I wasn't graduating due to this. But my friends stood up for me and protested that I was very talented and that she wasn't being fair. She might have just expelled everyone in the class, since everyone was standing up getting involved someway or another. The teacher saved me and to this day, I'm not sure why. She suggested a bet. If I could beat her in a game she would let me graduate early. But if I lost I would be expelled. Of course the principal accepted but modified the bet. I had to win with every single piece aliveIt was the biggest event the school had witnessed. The principal battling with a student. It took about 2 hours. But in the end, I triumphed. I have to say that was the best moment of my life. Hearing the cheers and seeing the look on her face. Kniwing her she probably would've denied losing if the entire school hadn't seen it. So I graduated very early and began my training 'on the field' as we call it. I think this story has tired everyone out. I'll see you all in the morning. With that, I went into my tent, and immediately lost consciousness.


End file.
